Clarksville, Tennessee, residents may agree that for the most part, a service member’s life differs from that of a civilian. However, when it comes to familial issues, many military personnel and their families experience the same set of challenges as a civilian family.
Divorce, property division, child custody, child support and spousal support are some areas that both military and civilian families have to deal with but following a military marriage, military divorce is a governed by a number of laws formulated by both state and federal governments, opposed to a civilian divorce governed by state laws.
A divorce is always hard on separating spouses because of the number of issues that need to be addressed. For example, a military divorce requires spouses to consider military retirement and medical benefits following a divorce. There are also issues such as child custody and visitation, which may pose huge problems for a service member because of extended active deployments and regular relocation. Moreover, there are a number of military regulations that regulate child support obligations.
In order to help and protect service members and their former spouses, the government has implemented a number of acts such as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act and the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act. But utilizing these acts requires guidance, and that is where a lawyer’s experience comes handy.
Often, addressing multiple issues at the same time requires a significant knowledge and understanding of state, federal and military laws. Since many separating service members and their spouses are not familiar with these laws, they seek advice from attorneys experienced in handling military family law matters. Such military spouses and their former spouses would be able to explain how a military divorce is different from a civilian divorce and how an experienced lawyer can help.
